Connected speech In spoken English, words are not pronounced separately or in isolation. Instead, we connect sounds between words to sound more natural. This is known as connected speech.

This is one feature in which Ming Wei did not perform well in her first attempts. There are instances where she could have connected the sounds between words:

…they have a lot of things in it. She could have connected the words have_a_lot_of and things_in_it.
and also contracted sounds:

I do not cook much. Saying “I don’t cook much” would sound more natural.
I would like to cook. She could have said “I’d like to cook”.
However, her use of connected speech significantly improved in her second attempt when she used the following:

Connecting consonants with vowels: Connect the sound of the final consonant of a word to the sound of the vowel of the following word. The connected sound will seem like a new syllable in the second word. For example:

Let’s talk_about → Let’s takabout Audio

I had_an_assignment to finish → I hadanassignment to finish Audio

But_I think → BudI think Audio

They use_it for_entertainment → Theyusit forentertainment Audio

Connecting similar sounds: Connect two words when the first one ends in the same letter as the following word. For example:

• We need_data → We needata Audio

• Social_learning → Socialearning Audio

• Fish_shop → Fishop Audio

• First_stop → Firstop Audio

Making new sounds: When you connect the /t/ sound with the /j/ sound, it creates the new sound /tj/. When you connect the /d/ sound with the /j/ sound, it creates the new sound /dj/. For example:

• Last year → Lastjear Audio

• Nice to meet you → Nice to meetja Audio

• Did you call? → Didja call? Audio

• Would you mind? → Woudja mind? Audio

Dropping a sound: When the last consonant of a word has the sound of a /t/ or a /d/ and the following word starts with another consonant, drop the /t/ or /d/ sounds. For example:

• My next class → My nexclass Audio

• The most common mistake → The moscommon mistake Audio

• I used to work → I useto work Audio

Using contractions: When possible, contract auxiliary and modal verbs. For example:

• I would like → I’d like Audio

• It is not cold → It isn’t cold Audio

• We should have gone → We should’ve gone Audio

• It will not be easy → It won’t be easy Audio @LanguageStuff

Organising ideas logically Camilo’s first response was effective in that he spoke fluently and used all of the prompts on the topic card to develop his ideas. However, the following problems were identified in terms of organisation:

Poor organisation: He did not really follow the same order of the prompts given on the topic card . He provided extra information about two of the prompts after he had already covered them.
Irrelevant ideas: Camilo talked about his sister, but this did not relate to any of the prompts on the topic card and he did not logically connect this to any of his other ideas.
Failure to meet time requirement: He did not develop his ideas enough and failed to speak for two minutes (he speaks for 1 minute and 35 seconds).
Coherence is determined by how ideas are organised and connected. You should aim to provide logically organised answers across the three parts of the test in order to achieve a high mark for Fluency and coherence.

Sequencing ideas logically is particularly important in Part 2 as you are required to speak on your own for up to two minutes. You can achieve this by:

• Using all the prompts on the topic card: Using only 1 or 2 is not enough to develop an entire, coherent answer.

• Following the same order of the prompts: These are presented in a logical and sequential order.

• Adding your own prompts: As you plan your answers, include 2-3 new prompts (i.e. points) with information that is relevant to the general topic of the question.

• Developing each prompt: Include 2-3 ideas per prompt. This will guarantee that you have enough content to speak for two minutes.

• Planning properly: Use the 1-minute planning time to write down the ideas you want to include in your answer. You are allowed to read from your planning sheet as you give your answer. @LanguageStuff

This is an effective plan because it:

• is well organised (using a grid divided into four),

• is easy to follow (following the prompts clockwise),

• uses all the prompts on the topic card,

• avoids full sentences and only includes key words,

• uses abbreviations to save time (e.g. convt for convenient, W-ing assign for writing assignments)

• uses bullet points (which you can tick as you cover that point when you speak). @LanguageStuff

@LanguageStuff speaking part2 advice

@LanguageStuff Speaking part3 Meet Ari

@LanguageStuff part3

What are signposts? A key part of the criteria for Fluency and coherence is using signposts accurately.

Signposts are words which help organise ideas. They are critical in helping listeners understand ideas and avoid confusion. Without signposts, speech, especially long stretches of speech, can be difficult to follow and understand. Common signposts are words such as:

firstly and secondly, which show sequence of ideas;
however, which shows contrast;
because, which shows reason.
In Ari’s responses, he spoke quite fluently, but often failed to use sufficient signposts. This meant that it was difficult to understand the links between his ideas. There were a number of issues that Ari had due to his lack of signposting.

Confusing links between his ideas: Ari’s failure to properly use signposts means that sometimes his ideas seemed separate and unlinked. This was quite problematic when he tried to list reasons why students drop out of university. The links between these reasons were not clear. In his second attempt, he added signposts and this helped make the different reasons clearer.

Signposts
Signposts have different functions and can help you to clearly show that you are going to:

sequence your ideas
give an example
add another idea
introduce an idea that is different
summarise ideas
give a cause
give an effect
emphasise a point
generalise
clarify a point.
Below is a signpost handout with a list of signposts appropriate for each function.

The IELTS Public Band Descriptors considers the use of signposts as part of coherence in all bands. At a Band 6, a range of signposts (connectives and discourse markers) are used but this is not always appropriate. At a Band 7, they are used appropriately and at a Band 8 speech is coherent and appropriate.

Discussion
Choose a signpost from the list above and write a sentence using it. @LanguageStuff